Interestingly, Billings also produced versions of the friction ratchet marked with its B-Triangle logo and offered them in early Billings pressed-steel socket sets, with the ratchets still referred to as "Allen" ratchets. The overall length is 8.2 inches, and the finish is plain steel with a black oxide coating.

By 1915 the company was offering a new ratchet design with a swiveling drive gear as the "Allen Universal Wrench". The patent marked on the pliers describes a finger-actuated release mechanism, visible as the small lever on the bottom of the lower handle.

In 1901 the wrench business of American Saw was purchased by John A. A." forged into the shank, with "Drop Forged Steel" forged into the reverse. The patent date refers to patent #1,205,149, filed by R. The models and sizes are, from the left, 40114 (7/16), 40116 (1/2), 40118 (9/16), 40119 (19/32), 40120 (5/8), 40122 (11/16), 40124 (3/4), 40126 (13/16), 40128 (7/8), 40130 (15/16), 40132 (1 inch), 40134 (1-1/16), and 40136 (1-1/8). The overall length is 10.2 inches, and the finish is chrome plating. (See our article on Billings & Spencer for more information.) Fig.

The Allen Manufacturing Company was founded in 1910 in Hartford, Connecticut.

The company is best known for its eponymous "Allen wrench", the familiar ell-shaped hexagonal wrenches used with socket-head set screws.

This ratchet was described by patent #1,261,092, filed in 1914 and issued in 1918. The Battery Equipment & Supply Company (BESCO) operated in Chicago during the 1920s.

The patent document describes a ratchet with a distinctive swiveling drive gear, allowing it to operate at an angle. The text notes that the sets were available in nine different models, with prices ranging from .50 to . Currently we don't have much information on this company, but the company appears to have been founded around 1920, based on a small advertisment in the April 1920 issue of Fig.

Allen's safety screws were based on patent #960,244, filed by W. The advertisement at the left was published in the 1910 The company's earliest products were socket sets based on a "friction ratchet" design covered by patent #1,000,878, filed in 1910 by Fred R. The patent describes the design of a gearless ratchet, using a friction cam to alternately grip and release the drive wheel.

The friction ratchet went into production in 1913 and was offered in various "Allen Friction Ratchet" socket sets with pressed-steel sockets and auxiliary drive tools, with Billings & Spencer providing the manufacturing for the ratchet itself.

Allen Wrench & Tool remained in business at least through the late 1920s, based on various published sources. 19 shows a pair of BESCO giant battery terminal pliers, designed for lifting a cable clamp from a battery post. The overall length is 14.5 inches, and the finish is plain steel with traces of black paint.

A 1922 directory listed the company at 766 Eddy Street in Providence, noting that it was incorporated under the laws of Rhode Island with 0,000 in capital stock, and with William Mc Creery as president. Webster, with assignment to Allen Wrench & Tool Company. The handle has forged-in markings for "BESCO" and "Made in U. The B-Shield marking indicates that the pliers were forged by Bonney Forge & Tool Works, a well-known tool maker that provided forging services to a number of other companies.

One of the company's earliest products was a safety set screw using an internal hex socket.

Conventional set screws for machine tool accessories used a square head that projected well above the tooling, leading to the possibility of a worker's clothing being snagged by the screw head, resulting in a gruesome accident. The patent describes a method of cold-forming a screw head around a hexagonal die.

The overall length is 8.4 inches, and the finish is nickel plating. 7 plier wrench with a removable jaw, stamped "Made in U. The first patent number refers to the Eifel 1916 patent #1,181,654 describing an early design for geared pliers. 15 shows a 1/2-drive Ayer 1-9/32 pressed-steel socket, stamped with the A-Circle logo and the fractional size (not shown). Given the proximity of the Ayer and Packer companies, the socket sets from either company may be found with sockets or tools from the other maker included. The overall length is 8.1 inches, and the finish is plain steel with a black oxide coating. 18 shows a later pair of Gripso 211 8 inch vise (locking) pliers, stamped with "Vise Pliers" and the model number on one side, with "H. The notice at the left was published on page 27 of the February 19, 1914 issue of and shows Beckley-Ralston's new building at the corner of 18th Street and Michigan Avenue.